A route from Wimbledon to Epping has been safeguarded since the 1970s but the London First business group has recommended the line travels to Hertfordshire via Hackney and Tottenham instead.

The safeguarded Chelsea-Hackney line, would have taken over the Central Line between Leytonstone and Epping to call at Snaresbrook, South Woodford and Woodford.

But the £12billion route recommended by London First in a report published this week would provide services between parts of Middlesex and Surrey in the south-west and Hertfordshire in the north-east, via a new tunnel between Wimbledon and Tottenham.

A London First spokesman said “passenger projections” had changed since the original route was earmarked.

Chairman Lord Adonis said: “Crossrail 1 provides a new east to west London line; Crossrail 2 is equally important for south-west to north-east London routes, where congestion on rail and tube lines will be unbearable by the late 2020s.”

If construction begins in the 2020s, Crossrail 2 could open in the early 2030s.

The Mayor of London and TfL will consider the proposals and a consultation is expected to open at the end of this year.